Bob Haynie: Orioles Creep Closer To .500 With Marlins Looming
The Baltimore Orioles just finished a nine-game home stretch by taking two out of three from the Seattle Mariners. During the homestand, the Birds went 5-4 against the Blue Jays, Angels and Mariners to move to within three games of first place in the AL East.
Obviously, the team does not remind anyone of the 1969 Orioles. They are, however, going to be a contender in what looks like--for now--a mediocre division.
The Tampa Bay Rays are the only AL East club to have won more games than they have lost over the last ten played. Coincidently enough, the Rays are in the top spot in a division that is only separated by 4.5 games.
With a record of 18-20, the Orioles start a three-game series on Friday with the Marlins in Miami. The Birds have not been at the .500 mark since they were 12-12 on May 5th.
The Marlins should be just the team Baltimore needs to make a move towards .500 and first place in the division.
Historically, the Orioles have been thumped in a big way by Miami. The Birds are just 6-18 overall against the former Florida Marlins including a putrid 1-11 record on the road.
All of that domination should not matter in 2015 because this year's Miami team is bad.
The Marlins have lost seven-straight and are in last place in the NL East. Their .381 winning percentage is the third-worst in the Major Leagues.
Oh yeah, they fired manager Mike Redmond this week and replaced him with GM Dan Jennings. Jennings, by the way, has no managerial experience and has started off 0-4 in Miami.
To be fair, the Marlins do feature OF stud Giancarlo Stanton and 2B Dee Gordon leads all of MLB with a .386 batting average.
That being said, the Orioles need to handle their business during this series and start stringing some wins together. Baltimore's longest winning streak in 2015 has been three games.
RH Ubaldo Jimenez will try and get the Birds off to a fast start on Friday night as he opposes RH Henderson Alvarez. Right-handers Mike Wright and Miguel Gonzalez are also scheduled to pitch for the Orioles facing fellow RHP Dan Haren and Tom Koehler.
After the series in Miami, the Orioles return home for a three-game set with the surprising Houston Astros.
Up first, it's the Marlins.
For the Orioles, anything less than a series win will be unacceptable.
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